Bahrain has launched an extensive business park initiative to develop land for the hundreds of new businesses that have registered in recent months.

'The demand [for industrial land in Bahrain] exceeds supply 10 fold, there is a tremendous demand for industry,' Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro said.

The park, located near aluminum company Alba, will offer 250 plots of land at 1,000 sq m each. The site is owned by the private sector company Ahmed Mansour Al Ali Company and will be regulated by the Industry and Commerce Ministry.
The industry sector has not only rebounded from this year's earlier unrest but has surpassed 2010's numbers.

'Trade and industry is not only back to normal, it is exceeding last year,' Minister Fakhro said. 'The number of companies that have registered in our investment centre and commercial registration facilities in the last three months--May, June and July--is 30 percent more compared to the same time last year. So we are not only back to normal, we are exceeding normal.'

Officials expect the park to attract food processing and aluminum-related companies. The land also lends itself to construction, renewable energy, chemicals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, logistics and warehousing sectors.

Minister Fakhro hopes the project will lead to billions of dollars of investment in Bahrain. – TradeArabia News Service